


outlier

by castlesociety



Category: Minecraft (Video Game), Video Blogging RPF
Genre: DNF, No beta reader, dreamnotfound, karlnap, the minors r friends lol
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-04
Updated: 2021-03-12
Packaged: 2021-03-16 06:01:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,487
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29077518
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/castlesociety/pseuds/castlesociety
Summary: The outlier on the football team meets a shy, stormy-eyed boy in a dimly lit corner of a musty library. What happens when their odd little friendship begins to bloom into something more ?A fluffy story about two boys falling in love !!Karl and Sapnap have explicitly stated that they're okay with fics, please do not spread hate. If they ever change their minds, I'll take this down !
Relationships: Clay | Dream/GeorgeNotFound (Video Blogging RPF), Karl Jacobs/Sapnap
Comments: 13
Kudos: 44





	1. Soft Boy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone !! I wrote this chapter at 3am a few days ago so please forgive if it's kinda messy,,,  
> I hope you enjoy :]

|| Sapnap POV ||

Sapnap has never been one for romance. Or at least, he thinks so. Being on the football team comes with its perks, but as weird as it may sound, he can’t stand the attention. It’s not like he doesn’t enjoy hanging out with his team, or occasionally look forward to a morning practice. What he can’t stand is the others. The people around him who use him for who he is, for what he is. He doesn’t want a romance with them, with the people he’s expected to be with.

It’s tiring, being around people all the time.

He’d rather just curl up in the corner of the library, head propped up on one hand, eyes scouring countless pages. The smell of coffee, the rustling of paper, the shelves of books hiding him from view. People around him tend to find it weird that someone like him spends his free time in a dimly lit little nook in a small library, reading books that are so worn out that the pages have begun to rip. But what can he do about what they think? That’s just who he is. He’s Sapnap, as strange as he may be.

His teammates know that. They don’t push him, not to his face. But he can see it, in their eyes. The confusion, the disappointment, even maybe anger, that he’s not one of them. He does his best to ignore it. And usually, his best involves a certain building with its certain shelves and certain smell.

Sapnap is in his favorite corner of the library, rereading an old collection of poems, the well-worn spine rough against his fingers. He turns a page, devouring the words a first, then second, then third time. His eyes flit up at a sudden movement, but nothing stands above him. He brushes it off, blaming it on his overactive imagination. For him, the line between reality and the fantasies he escapes to is blurred. The characters he reads about in books might as well be his best friends.

As he’s slipping back into the neatly typed letters on the torn, yellowed paper, he notices movement again. Surely he’s not just making things up at this point? “Hello?” he asks, voice hushed.

A boy steps out, eyes glued to the floor. “Hi,” he says, stumbling over the one syllable word. “Sorry to bother you. But, uh,” he clears his throat before raising his voice just a little, “can I get a book from behind you?”

“Oh,” Sapnap says, a little shocked for a moment. Now that Sapnap can properly see him, he sees that the boy is older than he first thought. The two of them could be the same age, Sapnap maybe even younger.

“Yeah, sure,” he finally says, moving over.

“Thank you.” The stranger reaches for a book, its brown spine adorned with gold letters.

As the man turns around and starts shuffling away, Sapnap feels an urge to call out to him. To tell him something. His name, his favorite color, anything. “The Song of Achilles.” His heart is beating so fast, watching the stranger freeze, that it feels as though it’s going to leap out of his chest. “The last, uh, fiction book I read,” he tries, his best attempt to salvage it.

“Kind of a weird introduction,” the boy says, turning. “I’m Karl.”

“I’m Sap—Nick. I’m Nick.”

Karl looks intrigued, his head tilted as though he’s a lost puppy. His eyes are wide and gray, but his pupils are so dilated that Sapnap can barely see it. “Why’d you say Sap?”

Sapnap ducks his head. “It’s a nickname,” he says sheepishly. “My friend came up with it a long time ago.”

“How do you get Sap from Nick?”

“That’s not-” Sapnap chuckles a bit. “That’s not the full nickname.”

Karl has come to stand in front of Nick again. “Oh?”

“Yeah. It’s Sapnap.”

Karl giggles. “Sapnap? It’s kinda cute.”

Nick looks up, brow furrowing. “...Yeah, I guess.” He notices the boy in front of him awkwardly shifting from foot to foot and suddenly realizes. “Oh, sorry! I’ve been taking up all the space. Come sit,” he makes room for Karl, patting the spot next to him, turning so that he’ll be facing Karl.

The two sit across from each other, awkwardly leaning away from one another.

This close up, Sapnap can see every detail on the other boy’s face—his long eyelashes framing his stormy eyes, the slight pinch in his brows, all complimented by the locks of brown hair falling around his face. 

“So,” Karl says, clearing his throat.

“So,” Sapnap replies, equally as nervous. “What brings you to the library?”

At that, Karl lightly laughs. “I wanted to read a book.”

Nick goes a little red at that. “Well, obviously. But this particular library?”

“Oh… I come here a lot. It’s nice.”

“Really? I haven’t seen you around before?” his voice pitches up at the end, making it a question.

Karl’s picking at his nails now. “I guess we just… got lucky this time.”

“I think-” Nick starts before his phone goes off ringing where it’s placed on the floor. He glances at it, before looking at Karl and quietly saying, “Give me a minute.”

Sapnap clambers to his feet and takes a couple steps away, clicking the answer button. “Dream?” he asks, looking behind him at where Karl is reading the book he took from that shelf.

“Hey, Sap. I was wondering if-”

“If this is about the team meeting tonight, I already told you I’m not coming.”

Dream sounds desperate when he finally speaks again, “Please, Sap. I need your help.”

“Why?”

“Well… George will be there.”

Sapnap curses under his breath. “Clay…” he says, sighing, “you’re ridiculous. What makes you think that _I’m_ the person to ask for this?”

Dream thinks about it for a moment, before deciding, “You don’t have to do anything, but having you around helps… please, Nick.”

With a loud exhale, Sapnap says, “Okay.” He glances back at the other boy reading a book. “Well… I was kind of talking to someone before you called so I’m going to go now. Bye,” he says, a smile playing on his lips.

“You have a friend?” Dream asks, genuinely sounding shocked.

Nick huffs, “What, I can’t have friends now?” He means to sound annoyed, but he can’t hide the smile in his voice.

The boy on the other end of the line laughs and then says, “That’s not what I meant. Good for you. What’s their name?”  
“Karl.”

“Since when do you know Karl?”

Nick runs a hand through his hair. “What do you mean? Do you know him?”

“He’s Jimmy’s friend.”

“Oh.”

“Anyway, Sap, thanks for agreeing to come.”

“I didn’t really have a choice,” says the younger boy lightheartedly. “I’ll see you later, Dream. Bye!” He promptly hangs up.

Sapnap looks over at Karl, who looks up at the exact same moment and catches his eye.

“So, Nick,” Karl’s voice is anything but loud. “You go to Ridgeview High, right?”

Nick’s heart speeds up. Is Karl just like everyone else? Using him? “Yeah,” he says softly.

“Cool, me too. I was wondering if… you want to, maybe hang out sometime?”

“You’re not gonna… bring up the team?”

“The team?” Karl sounds kind of dazed.

“The football team.”

“Oh, are you on the football team? I… don’t really do sports.”

Sapnap smiles. “Yeah, I am.” He hesitates a moment. “And- yeah, let’s hang out sometime. It’s not like I’ve got anything else to do.”

Karl almost whispers, “Cool.” And, in that quiet little corner of the library, two boys exchange numbers and short, whispered words. It seems, to the both of them, as though it’s their first time being part of something bigger than themselves. And, for a change, Sapnap thinks the attention is nice.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sapnap and Karl in a library, what will they do ??
> 
> Hopefully you enjoyed the chapter, next one will be more texting-based than speaking so be prepared for that !! It'll also be Karl POV because I love multi-POV stories :]  
> Let me know what you think in the comments and kudos are greatly appreciated if you enjoyed :]


	2. For Once

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> okay speedrunning the summary (dream would b so proud) /lh  
> sapnap. karl. texting.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wrote the last half of this at 2am please forgive me ,,  
> anyway i hope you guys enjoy this texting chapter <3 i tried to make the formatting easy to read but it was kinda hard ,,  
> also !! i received some comments on my last chapter informing me that tommy/tubbo/ranboo do not want to be shipped and are minors and i wanted to include that i am VERY aware of this and would never ship them !! the tags were kinda confusing to me, as a new ao3 user, so i messed it up a bit ! i have since fixed it and i want everyone to know that the three of them will not be shipped with anyone and all their relationships in this fic are PURELY platonic <3

|| Karl POV ||

Karl takes a look at the newest contact on his phone. Not that he had many to begin with. It’s only been a couple hours since he met Nick. _Is this too soon?_ Karl thinks to himself. Should he be texting some boy he first talked to today? Surely a little hi never hurt anyone…

Karl types out a short message, reading it over a couple times before hesitantly hitting send.

_[to sapnap] hi nick :] this is karl!_

He watches as the gray delivered message pops up, quickly replaced by a receipt that tells him Sapnap has read it. He suddenly feels very nervous. What if the other boy just gave Karl his number out of pity? Why would a football player want to hang out with someone as… unimportant as him? He’s about to lose himself in his thoughts when suddenly a gray message pops up.

_[from sapnap] hey karl_

Karl tells himself that Nick is just being polite. He _has_ to respond, since Karl saw he read it. He shuts off his phone, convincing himself that this will amount to nothing. He picks up the book he got earlier from where it sits on his nightstand, the brown leather coarse against his skin. The pages are familiar, he reminds himself. He’ll just bury himself in the pages.

His phone buzzes.

 **_[from sapnap]_ ** _what’s up?_

 **_[from sapnap]_ ** _do u want to come to a thing tonight?_

Karl takes a moment to process the words, before typing back.

 **_[to sapnap]_ ** _what kinda thing?_

 **_[from sapnap]_ ** _team meet up_

 **_[to sapnap]_ ** _i don’t think i’d fit in very well_

 **_[from sapnap]_ ** _team’s chill_

 **_[from sapnap]_ ** _they’d like u i think_

Karl is utterly confused. _i don’t know.._ He immediately backspaces it.

 **_[to sapnap]_ ** _i’ll think about it_

 **_[to sapnap]_ ** _where_

 **_[from sapnap]_ ** _k_

 **_[from sapnap]_ ** _dream’s house i’ll send the address_

 **_[from sapnap]_ ** _at 8_

 **_[to sapnap]_ ** _is this gonna be a party thing_

He wants to admit to Sapnap that he doesn’t do well around people, but he can’t. They barely know each other. He can’t go spilling his guts to a new friend and scare him away. Three dots show up on his screen. Sapnap’s typing. They go away for a second before reappearing. What could he be typing for so long?

 **_[from sapnap]_ ** _nah just the team and a couple of our friends_

 **_[from sapnap]_ ** _if it makes u feel better_

 **_[from sapnap]_ ** _i don’t like crowds very much_

Karl giggles to himself at the irony. _He plays football for hundreds of people but doesn’t like crowds?_ He notes it down in his head.

 **_[to sapnap]_ ** _good to know_

 _is that why u spend ur free time in the library?_ He types, hesitating. Don’t send it, says the little voice in the back of his head. Another gray message pops up before he can contemplate it further.

 **_[from sapnap]_ ** _lmk if u want me to pick u up_

 **_[to sapnap]_ ** _i’ll think abt it_

His phone buzzes again, and he glances down, almost entirely expecting to see another message from Nick. He’s wrong.

 **_[from alex]_ ** _hey u wanna hang out tonight/_

 **_[from alex]_ ** _tommy n tubbo r coming over_

 **_[from alex]_ ** _i invited ranboo 2_

For once, Karl is tempted to say no. He’s tempted to leave behind his comfortable little circle of friends, to meet Nick and the football team. To do whatever it is that boys like Nick do. But, as he twiddles his thumbs and glances at one of his closest friends’ contacts, he whispers a small apology to the new friend he’s made.

 **_[to alex]_ ** _sure_

 **_[to alex]_ ** _ur place?_

 **_[from alex]_ ** _yeh_

 **_[to alex]_ ** _should i bring anything_

 **_[from alex]_ ** _just yourself_

 **_[from alex]_ ** _and ur xbox controllers_

 **_[to alex]_ ** _k what time_

 **_[from alex]_ ** _idk like 6_

Karl glances at the time. He’s got an hour or so.

 **_[to alex]_ ** _k thanks_

 **_[from alex]_ ** _see u_

 **_[to alex]_ ** _cya_

Karl swipes out of his conversation with Alex, reopening his texts to Sapnap. His eyes scan the words again as he tries to find some malicious intent hidden behind the words, tries to understand what made a football player interested in someone like him. Was Sap planning something? To embarrass him? He shakes the thought away, reminding himself that it doesn’t matter anyway.

 **_[to sapnap]_ ** _sorry i can’t come to ur thing today_

 **_[to sapnap]_ ** _something came up_

The message gets read almost immediately. Karl is expecting a response, a small “oh” or “k.” What he’s not expecting—and what happens—is Sapnap’s contact popping up on his screen. Calling him. Finger hovering over the decline button, Karl pauses a moment before picking up. He clicks the speaker button.

“Nick?” _Is this normal? Does friendship usually move like this?_ Karl’s mind swims with questions.

He can hear Nick inhale, sounding almost nervous. “Hey, Karl.”

“Why’d you call?”

“Um… I don’t know. Spur of the moment, I guess.”

Karl sets his phone on his bed in front of him. “Spur of the moment, huh? Do you act like this to everyone you’ve only met hours before?”

“Not usually, no,” he says with a quiet laugh. “I guess you’re just different.”  
“How is that?” Karl asks, feeling bolder than usual.

“I don’t know, you just are.”

Karl giggles, “Okay.”

“So what is this thing that came up?”  
The boy suddenly feels bad… What is he supposed to say? _“Oh, I’m too much of a coward to step out of my comfort zone”?_

“Karl, hello?”

“Hey,” Karl blinks, “hi. Sorry. Well, my friend kind of had something planned for tonight so I was going to go hang out with him…”

“Oh.” Sapnap sounds a bit disappointed but his voice is cheery when he says, “Well, maybe next time then!”

“Yeah,” Karl says, the cheer in Sapnap’s voice contagious. “Maybe.”

“Well… I’ll text you?”

“Yeah.” His words are soft. “I’d like that.”

“Bye Karl!”

“Bye Nick,” his words shake with slight laughter. “Talk later.”

There’s a little beep as the call ends. 

Karl can’t help but smile to himself thinking of the other boy. This is the most he’s talked to someone outside of his immediate friend group. This is the first time he’s made a new friend in years. As he opens his book to the bookmarked page, he can only think of Nick.

Even so, the voice in the back of his head tells him that he’s being ridiculous. The other boy, as kind as he seems, has no reason to be friends with someone like Karl. No motive. What does he gain from this? And what compelled him to call Karl back when he’d begun walking away?

And, before he knows, it’s been half an hour and he hasn’t read a single page, instead fretting over his new friend. He takes a look at the clock and shuts the book, effectively banishing thoughts of Nick. When Alex says to be there at a certain time, he usually means be there early. He has a weird obsession with being punctual. Karl changes, slipping into nicer clothes. As much as his friends would be fine with anything, he likes to wear nice clothes. They’re a confidence boost.

He tucks his shirt into his jeans, slipping a sweater on over it and pocketing his phone. He’s slipping his shoes on and hopping out the door when he suddenly remembers the controllers he left sitting in the living room. His phone begins buzzing in his pocket, his shoes half-on, as he leans over the couch to grab his controllers. His mind swims as he tries to tend to everything, sticking his finger in his shoes to pull out the backs, gripping his controller in one hand, and answering the phone with the other.

“Hello?” He doesn’t know what to say because he didn’t see the caller ID.

“Hey, Miranda, this is your internet service-” He hangs up. Wrong number, or spam, or something. His heart kind of deflates at realizing that it wasn’t his new friend. It’s exhilarating, being friends with someone outside of his usual circle, is what he’s beginning to realize. He pockets his phone again, this time leaving the door with everything on him. He shuts the door, locking it and sticking the key back in his pocket. 

He almost calls his mom to tell her he’s out, but it’s not like she’ll be back anytime soon. He could get back home at 2am and she probably wouldn’t be there. He walks down the sidewalk, feet hitting the ground softly, trying not to think about his parents being absent recently. As he nears Alex’s house, rounding a corner, he spots people standing by the door.

“Karl!” It’s Tommy’s voice. “Do you need help with that?”  
Karl looks up at the boy. “Nah, I’m good. Since when are you this nice?”  
“Eh, feeling nice today.”  
Tubbo walks out from behind him. “Sure, Tommy. Keep telling yourself that,” he chuckles, walking over to the door and ringing the doorbell.

Alex shows up at the door, smiling, wearing a beanie even though he’s inside. Karl smiles at that. Of course he would wear a beanie at his own house. “Come in, come in.”

Tubbo steps in, Tommy and Karl following. “I thought you said Ranboo was coming?” Karl asks.

“He said he will, probably just late,” Alex replies.

Karl sets his controllers down on the floor in front of where the TV is, glancing at his phone. 5:57. A half laugh escapes from his mouth. “He’s not late, it’s not even 6 yet.”

“He might as well be,” Alex says, jokingly, as he turns on the console. “So what are we playing today?”

“COD?” Karl suggests.

“It gets kind of boring though. What about-” The doorbell rings. Alex looks at Karl for a second before quickly saying, “Not it.”

“Not it,” Tubbo echoes from where he’s sitting cross-legged on the couch. Tommy says the same, his back to the couch from his spot on the floor.

Karl sighs, standing up. “Alex, this is your house.” 

“Well, you didn’t say it in time. L.” 

“We’re not even playing anything yet!” Karl says, his anger half-hearted because he knows it’s a joke. He turns the lock, swinging the door open to find Ranboo standing outside. The boy towers over him, ducking to get inside.

“Hey Karl,” he says with a smile.

Karl shuts the door behind him, locking it again. “Hey man!”

They all take their spots in the living room, TV bright in the dim room. Tubbo has slid off the couch to sit on the floor. Ranboo sits next to Tommy and Tubbo, back leaning against the couch. Alex and Karl sit a bit forward, leaning against the short coffee table in the center of the room. It’s nearly silent but they all sit comfortably, having known each other long enough to not mind. Tubbo is looking at something on Tommy’s phone, and Karl, Alex, and Ranboo all just exchange looks. They all burst out laughing within seconds.

Karl misses this. He’s kind of glad he declined Nick’s offer. “So are we playing some Minecraft or…?”

“Yeah, sure,” Alex says, “Speaking of which, you’ll never believe what I saw the other day…”

A comfortable conversation starts as Minecraft boots up, Alex telling them all about how he saw four ancient debris blocks next to each other and the rest of them piping in.

“So,” Ranboo says, grabbing one of the controllers on the table, “Karl, what’s up?”  
Karl almost chokes on nothing when he hears the question. “What’s that about?” he asks, laughing in between his words.

“I don’t know, man, you’re acting different,” Ranboo responds, nudging Tubbo to back him up.

Tubbo gladly offers support, “He’s kind of right…” The statement is said jokingly but Karl is starting to get nervous. They’ve barely been talking for ten minutes, is he really acting that different? Surely meeting a new friend couldn’t have made this much of an impact on him.

“Please, if anything was up, you guys would already know.”

“Girlfriend, maybe?” Alex playfully suggests, and they all chuckle a bit.

Karl thinks of the boy he’d met earlier. “Definitely not,” he coughs between laughs.

“I _love_ women,” Tommy blurts out.

“We know, Tommy,” Alex replies.

The conversation quickly devolves into laughter, a shared moment between the five of them as they all sit in an almost circle on the floor of the living room, Minecraft opened on the Xbox in front of them. Alex navigates through the menu, opening up a new world. Karl grabs his controller, turning it on and then setting it on the floor in front of him to check his phone. Alex and Tommy take the other two controllers, the latter offering to share with Tubbo. 

Alex hums as he collects wood, abruptly shouting at Ranboo when the boy hits him in game. “Oh, you wanna go?” There’s loud damage sounds as he starts attacking his friend’s character with a sword.

Karl has all but tuned them out as he scrolls through his messages with Sapnap, his last two messages hanging there. The other boy had _called_ him over that. Karl is still confused why he even got invited in the first place. Surely Nick had better friends that would fit in there?

 **_[to sapnap]_ ** _hey hows ur party thing_

 **_[to sapnap]_ ** _sorry i couldnt make it ):_

He swipes out of the conversation and closes his phone, glancing up at the screen where he’s dead. Tubbo starts giggling, pointing at Tommy. “Hey, dickhead,” Tommy says, “you weren’t supposed to tell him.”

Tubbo is doubling over, and even Tommy can’t keep a straight face at that. Karl respawns, glancing over at Tommy’s part of the split screen.

“Oh Tommyyy,” he taunts, chopping down a tree.

Ranboo has built a shack in the side of a mountain a little bit away from spawn, which is only big enough for a single chest, a bed, a crafting table, and a furnace. It looks almost like a mansion compared to Tommy’s dirt hut next to it, though. Karl makes stone tools and grabs his crafting table. He’s placed a couple pieces of oak wood where his house will go when his phone buzzes. Alex and Ranboo are about to go mining, Tommy is building his dirt house bigger, and Tubbo is laughing and talking to Tommy. Karl picks up the phone, glancing at the notification on his lock screen. “ **_[from sapnap]_ ** _its okay im kinda…_ ”

He holds it in front of his face, unlocking it to see the full text.

 **_[from sapnap]_ ** _its okay im kinda bored tho_

 **_[from sapnap]_ ** _and dw abt it man_

Despite Nick telling him not to worry about it, he can’t help but feel bad.

 **_[to sapnap]_ ** _what r u guys doing_

 **_[to sapnap]_ ** _idk much abt football_

The gray typing bubble pops up. Nick is typing.

 **_[from sapnap]_ ** _not rly abt football_

 **_[from sapnap]_ ** _just chilling_

 **_[from sapnap]_ ** _some people r drinking_

The typing bubble pops up and then goes away. Karl wonders if it’s his fault.

 **_[to sapnap]_ ** _oh cool_

 **_[to sapnap]_ ** _r u_

That was dumb, he thinks to himself. Did he really just ask someone if they’re drinking at a party?

 **_[from sapnap]_ ** _no_

 **_[from sapnap]_ ** _being my friends wingman_

 **_[to sapnap]_ ** _lol_

 **_[to sapnap]_ ** _whos ur friend_

 **_[from sapnap]_ ** _dream_

 **_[from sapnap]_ ** _or clay ig_

“Karl!” The boy looks up from his phone at his friends. “Do you want to play something else?”

“Oh, uh,” he glances back at his phone. Sapnap can see that he’s read it by now. “No, don’t worry. Tubbo can take my controller for a little bit.” He hands the controller to his friend, who gladly takes it with a smile.

 **_[to sapnap]_ ** _oh ive seen him before_

 **_[to sapnap]_ ** _hows it going_

 **_[from sapnap]_ ** _both of them r just drunk_

 **_[from sapnap]_ ** _and laughing_

 **_[from sapnap]_ ** _so good ? ig_

 **_[to sapnap]_ ** _oh_

Karl is disappointed at his reaction, but what is he meant to say? He scrambles for words but with the combined sudden pressure of talking to someone new, his friends laughing around him, and the sound of blocks being broken and lava fizzling in the background, he can’t focus on them long enough to put them down. In the end, his message seems ridiculous and he can’t believe he’s asking, but if that’s what it takes to keep the conversation moving, he’s willing.

 **_[to sapnap]_ ** _so whos the girl_

 **_[from sapnap]_ ** _uh_

Sapnap is typing for a second and then evidently deletes it, the bubble disappearing. This happens a few times before Karl finally gets a response.

 **_[from sapnap]_ ** _cant tell u_

 **_[from sapnap]_ ** _i would but dont want dream 2 be uncomfy_

 **_[to sapnap]_ ** _oh its fine lol_

 **_[to sapnap]_ ** _wbu_

 **_[to sapnap]_ ** _r u dating someone_

Karl sighs at the text on his screen. He really doesn’t know how to talk to people. Alex looks over at him. “Are you okay? Come play some Minecraft?” his friend says lightly, holding out his controller.

“In a second,” Karl gives a smile, turning back to his phone where a new text sits on his screen.

 **_[from sapnap]_ ** _nah_

 **_[from sapnap]_ ** _not my thing_

 **_[from sapnap]_ ** _maybe one day_

 **_[to sapnap]_ ** _oh lmao_

 **_[to sapnap]_ ** _i bet u could if u want_

 **_[to sapnap]_ ** _lots of girls like u_

 **_[from sapnap]_ ** _they dont like me_

There’s typing and then a stop, maybe hesitation from Sapnap. Karl can practically feel it, the way his finger would hover over the send button and a million thoughts would run through his head before he finally clicked it, probably accompanied by dread and maybe even guilt. Or the other option, staring at it for a moment and then deleting it. He thinks Sapnap has done the letter when no new message pops up. But then, a little gray bubble pops up.

 **_[from sapnap]_ ** _they like football player nick_

Oh. Karl is kind of taken aback. Sapnap is… opening up to him?

 **_[to sapnap]_ ** _im sure u will find someone_

 **_[to sapnap]_ ** _u seem cool_

Karl cringes inwardly. Did he really just say that?

Ranboo glances over at him. “Karl, you good?”

He’d almost forgotten his friends were there. “Yeah, I’m fine. Alex, hand me the controller?” The question feels almost rude but he can’t stop it from escaping. “Please?” he adds, in an attempt to feel less separate from his friends.

“Yeah, one second. I just have to-” He’s cut off by a damage sound and his screen turning to the respawn screen. His giggly tone goes almost flat as he says, “Bruh.”

“Okay well, here,” Alex says after a moment, passing the controller to Karl. The boy glances at his phone once more, typing out a message.

 **_[to sapnap]_ ** _i gtg now_

 **_[to sapnap]_ ** _ttys_

He considers sending a heart but reels himself back in, reminding himself that him and Nick have barely even interacted.

 **_[from sapnap]_ ** _k ttys_

 **_[from sapnap]_ ** _and thanks_

 **_[from sapnap]_ ** _maybe i will_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so,, what did u think ?? i was gonna keep writing but the chapter is so fkn long already, i had to stop myself lmao  
> next chapter will probably b karl POV again !!  
> i tried my best to make it interesting but the dialogue is so dry i apologize  
> i am so used to writing like a dumb gay bitch (which i am lmao) that i can't write real people talking,, the amount of times i separated the punctuation with spaces and tried to do multiple commas smh /lh  
> anyway sorry these updates are taking so long ive been kinda stressed, hopefully you guys enjoy tho <3  
> kudos and comments are highly appreciated :]


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> karl hanging out w/ his friends :D

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this one's a lot shorter because i felt really bad for not updating ! the next one will be sap POV and i promise i'll do my best to make it a very long chapter (i'm already working on it) !  
> been feeling kinda stressed recently :(

“Stop, stop, stop,” Alex laughs, buttons clicking aggressively as he desperately maneuvers his character on the screen in an attempt to not die.

“What do you mean stop?” Karl asks lightly, “You’re the one who suggested we play this.”

“Go for Ranboo, he’s right next to you!”

“What? Why me-” his friend protests, tilting his head in a way that can’t be comfortable as he unsuccessfully moves out of the way of Tommy’s attacks.

“I don’t know, just-” Alex is cut off by Karl releasing a slew of attacks that send him flying over the edge and end the round because somehow, Tommy has fallen off the map on his own. “Dang it!” He says, in what could almost be a scream.

“L,” he says, mocking his friends as they all stare at the victory screen. “You guys suck,” his tone is playful and he’s on the verge of descending into a fit of laughter when Alex elbows him in the ribs.

“Hand it over,” Tubbo says, extending his hand to Alex to give him the controller.

“Here,” Ranboo says instead, offering his. “I’m kinda sick of this game.”

“Sick of losing, you mean,” Tommy taunts, seemingly prideful but with a genuine smile plastered on his face.

“Keep telling yourself that, big man,” Ranboo jokes, setting his arm down as Tubbo takes the controller. “Or, I guess, little man,” he chuckles, adjusting his back to sit up straight.

Tubbo laughs at that, despite being much shorter. “Haha, big T is short.”

“Take that back, I am not-”   
As the three of them playfully joke, Karl starts the next round and flips over his phone to check his notifications. When the screen lights up and the only notification is a missed call from an unknown number, he deflates a little. His friends, of course, notice.

“Aw Karl, is your girlfriend not texting you back?” Tubbo teases.

He laughs, turning his phone back upside down. “As if I’d have a girlfriend.”

“Please, if anyone here would have one, it’d be you,” Alex says reassuringly.

Tommy pauses his conversation with Tubbo and Ranboo for a moment, piping in to say, “I love women so it’d probably be me.” and then jumps back into his previous conversation.

The game finally loads in, Karl immediately going to fight Alex like it’s his duty. “Stop targeting me,” Alex says, but he’s grinning.

“I’m not targeting anyone,” Karl responds sarcastically, mashing buttons aggressively as the two of their characters slash and swing at each other. As he’s about to hit Alex off, his phone buzzes, distracting him, and Alex turns it around and knocks him off the platform. “Hey, that is so unfair! I was distracted.”   
“Tell your girlfriend not to text so much, then,” he responds triumphantly.

“I don’t have a girlfriend!” Karl goes to check who it actually is, seeing a missed call from his mom and three texts asking where he is. He glances at the top of his screen. “Oh shit, it’s already midnight.”

“So what? I thought your mom doesn’t get home til later?”

“Her shift ended early today. I gotta go,” Karl hops up, controller in one hand, phone in the other. He grabs his sweater from the table and tugs it on over his shirt. As he’s slipping his shoes onto his feet, he calls out, “Bye guys! I’ll see you tomorrow at school?”

There’s a unison of “Bye Karl”s and “See you tomorrow”s as he shuts the door behind him. It’s colder outside than he’d expected and he’s suddenly really wishing he’d brought his board, even as he realizes that he couldn’t have skated holding so much stuff.

He wants to walk slowly and relax but his phone buzzes with another text and before he knows it, he’s running down the street in the cold, feet hitting the pavement loudly.  _ At least nobody can see me right now _ , he thinks to himself, panting as he runs. But, spurred by his need to get home, he keeps going until he’s standing in front of his house, leaning forward and breathing heavily. Before he can take out his keys, the door swings open and his mother is standing there.

He thanks her for opening the door and walks into the house, collapsing on the couch. “Hey.”

His mom smiles. “How was your day?” She closes the door and walks inside. “Do you want something to eat?”

“It was alright,” he doesn’t go into details, doesn’t tell her about the friend he’s made or the hours he’s spent at Alex’s house. “Kinda tired.”

“Tea?”   
His nose scrunches up. “I don’t really like tea.”   
“There’s some monsters in the cabinet if you want one?”

“I think I might just go to bed.”

“If you say so. Whos house were you at?”   
“Alex’s, it was just a few of us.”

“Alright. Well if you’re tired, I won’t keep you here. Night, Karly.”

“Night mom,” he says softly, getting up from the couch to give his mom a kiss on the forehead and then going to his room.

He gently closes the door, turning the heater on, before throwing his keys onto the nightstand and falling into bed on his phone. He scrolls through Instagram, liking a couple posts before noticing the little red dot signifying he has a notification. He opens it.

[@nicksap followed you] He clicks the profile. The few posts are just of Nick with the team, and the bio only consists of their school name and a quote by someone he’d never heard of. Regardless, he taps the follow back button.

He looks through a couple of the posts, making sure not to click anything, and then closes the app, bored. His attention span is usually longer than it has been today. As he’s opening Spotify, he hears a door close.  _ Good night, mom _ , he thinks to himself, popping his earbuds in and leaning against the headrest, eyes closed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i hope you enjoyed the boyz having fun n popping off ! dialogue is a little hard for me to write but i tried my best ! lmk what you think in the comments and, as always, kudos/subscriptions are greatly appreciated !


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